Cutting diet critique

[ChuckieT]

Hi guys, it's another diet critique thread again. Sorry if it bothers anyone, but I've never really gotten any advice on my food consumption before. I wouldn't mind getting some honest opinions on it. I've been training hard and trying to eat right for roughly 3 years now. (I'm 21 now). Although it's hard for me to say 3 years since half of the time I THOUGHT I was doing things right. I'm sure you guys know what I mean... i.e. overtraining, low fat/high carb diet, excessive cardio. In any case, I've been working hard on trying to get huge and ripped like everyone else. It's tough obviously especially considering I've spent the majority of my life eating like a pig and sitting around watching TV.

I am currently on a cutting cycle so obviously my calories are low.

Food intake for my non-workout days:

Meal One: 1 soft boiled egg and 3 tablespoons of flax seeds
Meal Two: Chicken Breast and veggies (broccoli, carrots, beans)
Meal Three: Whole Almonds, Tuna, and fish oil capsules
Meal Four: Pre/Post workout shake
Meal Five: Sometimes chicken breasts, or maybe a small steak, veggies and some more fish oil capsules.
Meal Six: Milk Protein Isolate mixed with non-fat cottage cheese, fish oil capsules, a fiber supplement, and 2 servings of liquid cod liver oil

Food intake for my non-workout days:

Meal One: Some bran cereal (Fiber-One for those who are curious) and 2 scoops of Optimum Whey Protein.
Meal Two: Whole Almonds, Tuna, and fish oil capsules
Meal Three: Chicken Breasts (Sometimes two), veggies
Meal Four: Chicken breasts and or steak, veggies and some more fish oil capsules
Meal Five: Milk Protein Isolate mixed with non-fat cottage cheese, fish oil capsules, a fiber supplement, and 2 servings of liquid cod liver oil

It's a pretty standard and boring intake of food, although sometimes I will throw in a piece of fruit or switch out chicken/steak for salmon.

Average macronutrient intake for workout days:

Calories: 1844 | Fat 60.2 | Fiber 37.8 | Protein 219.2 | Carbs 128.9

Average macronutrient intake for non-workout days:

Calories: 1734 | Fat 56.7 | Fiber 57.8 | Protein 234.2 | Carbs 79.9

How do things look? I'm always worried I'm deficient in something especially during cutting cycles so please let me know if you think I'm missing something important. Constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated. Thanks guys!

[bradley]

What are your stats (height/weight/bf%)? What does your pre/postworkout consist of?

[ChuckieT]

Oh I'm sorry I forgot to include that information.

My pre and post workout is the standard protein factory recover formula which according to their site consists of:

45% Dextrose
20% Maltodextrin
25% hydrolyzed 520
5% Glutamine peptides
5% BCAA

I am 5'10'', currently 183/185 lbs.

To be honest I'm not sure about my body fat. Maybe I'm just bad at using calipers or maybe my body is structured really strangely. The one site method on my stomach says I'm about 16% BF, and the three site method says I'm 9-10%. I have to say, I doubt I'm at either 16 or 9-10% BF. I suppose I'll just take an average and say I'm 13% bodyfat. It's odd though, my arms and chest are fairly lean (although now I feel like my arms have become twigs after this cutting, lol) but my stomach still has a significant amount of fat around it. I guess that's what I get for being a slug for nearly my entire life. Anyway, I'll just say 13% to be safe since I don't have a six pack but I have some decent definition.

[bradley]

Calories look a little low IMO. I would go with 12*bw and see what kind of results you get. How much are you losing per week? I would shoot to lose about a pound a week. Ratios look good to me.

[fuzz]

Can you see your abs at all? Have you had your bf measured by anyone experienced - say a trainer who does a lot of measurements at your gym?

[ChuckieT]

Yeah I was thinking calories might be a little low too and I'm not using any androgens to help me... I have noticed a loss of strength but that's to be expected of course. Weight loss has actually been a little slower then a pound a week but that's probably because I haven't been perfectly disciplined during this time, you know, the holiday season and all. In any case, weight is slowly going down at about a pound a week. Do you recommend that I up the calories a bit though? Or is it safe to say that my calories are alright at where they are at my rate of weight loss?

Abwise, I cannot see any cuts but I can see the sides (sorta) of where my abs would be. It's like the edges of my six pack. But it's rather hard to see. I have to look at it in a certain light/angle and at certain times of day. Lol.

The unfortunate thing is that I work out at my university's gym. It's too bad there isn't anyone there who can take bodyfat measurements. I suppose in the end I'll have to rely on what I see in the mirror and my crappy measurements. It's too bad too, I really want to ensure that this cut cycle will be successful. I've already been through a couple cut cycles before that were completely unsuccessful. Heh.

[bradley]

Do a search on refeeds as you might want to think about incorporating them into your cutting diet if you plan on keeping cals at their current level. You can also check out Avatar's journal as he incorporates refeeds and is also keeping his calorie around 1800. Might be able to get some useful info from there.

[ChuckieT]

Oh yes, I did forget to mention that I do occassional refeeds. Although this is my first time attempting to incorporate them into my cut cycle...so maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Take a look at my refeed day and let me know what you guys think. There is one thing that I think I could have done better, my carbs probably could've been cleaner. In any case here it goes:

Meal one: 1 cup of oatmeal, 2 scoops of optimum
Meal two: 1 cup of oatmeal, 2 scoops of optimum, some nutrigrain bar I found, an apple, and a lot of wheat crackers
Meal three: 2 chicken breasts, veggies, fish oil capsules, more wheat crackers
Meal four: Veggies, cod liver oil, flax seeds, and round steak
Meal five: Milk Protein Isolate mixed with non-fat cottage cheese, fish oil capsules, an apple, and 2 servings of liquid cod liver oil



Calories: 3381 | Fat 98.7 | Fiber 45.2 | Protein 272.8 | Carbs 352.9

[bradley]

From what I have read at your present bf% you should have one refeed each week. Keep fat low(10%) and moderate protien and eat carbs to fill in the rest of your daily calories. There are different views as to total cals that should be consumed on a refeed but 1.5*basal metabolic rate seems to be a general guideline. The refeed you listed above looked good just might want to lower fat and decrease protien (1g per lb of bw would be plenty). Hope this helps.

[ChuckieT]

Yeah it does. Thanks!

I'll probably try to clean up some of my carbs, the wheat crackers were good, but the small amounts of fat that they have really add up.

[bradley]

Try some kids cereal.

[ChuckieT]

Lol I can't imagine eating Fruit Loops even for refeeds.